Hamilton is a former American brand now owned by the Swiss watch conglomerate Swatch Group.
The brand offers appealing watches for all kinds of tastes, from field watches to chronograph watches. Furthermore, the prices are pretty affordable for a Swiss manufacturer.
In this Hamilton watches review, we shed light on the timepieces and uncover if they’re worth your effort. Also, we’ll analyze the brand as a whole through its rich history, quality levels, and reputation.
By the end of this post, you’ll have a clear understanding of what Hamilton and its watches are. As already said, Hamilton hasn’t been in the hands of the Swiss the whole time when initially it was established in 1892 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The success was quick to follow at the turn of the century when Hamilton watches became known for their durability and accuracy.
As a result, the brand was contracted to provide railwaymen with precise pocket watches. Not long after, a Hamilton watch became synonymous with railroad scheduling and eventually received the title: The Watch of Railroad Accuracy.
During World War I, the influx of wristwatches took off when soldiers needed handy timekeeping options. Hamilton didn’t lag behind when it provided the Armed Forces with reliable watches. In fact, it was during the war in 1917 when the brand’s first wristwatch was introduced. When WWI brought Hamilton to the wristwatch era, then WWII determined its position as the powerhouse of US watchmaking. Over one million watches were produced, with the most recognized being the chronometers for marines.
The post-war era added another facet to this brand when several Hamilton watches featured in major Hollywood movies. The Frogmen in 1951 and Blue Hawaii in 1961 were the cornerstone movies that ensured Hamilton was high up in the pecking order whenever a wristwatch was required for the screen.
Up until today, Hamilton has featured in more than 500 Hollywood films, with the latest blockbusters being Interstellar, The Martian, and Tenet.
Although Hamilton made a name for itself with Hollywood features and even introduced the world’s first digital watch in 1970, the financial conditions weren’t so rosy. Eventually, Hamilton was acquired by SSIH in 1974, which was the predecessor of Swatch Group. Despite Hamilton was owned by the Swiss, it didn’t start equipping its watches with Swiss ETA calibers not until the 1980s. And it took another two decades when Hamilton moved everything, including the headquarters, to Switzerland. Due to the fact that the brand is a subsidiary of Swatch Group, Hamilton watches are made in Switzerland and, as a result, carry Swiss-made tags. In other words, the movements have been assembled and inspected in Switzerland, and at least 60% of manufacturing costs are domestic.
Since a Swiss watch must be produced at least 60% domestically, it leaves the rest of 40% free of regulations.
Simply put, you can expect up to 40% of watch parts to be of foreign origins, such as China and various South-East Asian countries that offer lower production costs.
These regulations are set by the Swiss government and apply to every manufacturer, including Rolex, Omega, and other luxury brands. Now that the background of Hamilton watches replica is clear, let’s delve into the most interesting timepieces this Swiss brand has to offer.
I have picked watches from different collections so that the overview would be as complete as possible.
As follows, you’ll find Replica Hamilton watches from all the seven collections it currently offers – Khaki Field, Khaki Aviation, Khaki Navy, Ventura, Jazzmaster, American Classic, and Broadway.